The Big Caper

Frank Harper convinces Flood to go after a larger payday by hitting the San Felipe bank just before a Monday payroll. The plan hinges on timing and exploiting the Marine Base payroll. This marks the shift from small-time theft to a high-stakes operation.

Frank buys a local gas station and moves Kay into a house nearby as they pose as a married couple. The fake domestic life helps them blend into San Felipe and sets the stage for Flood's network to assemble. They become embedded in the community as the crew tightens its hold.

Kay embraces the homemaker persona and grows closer to Frank, while hinting she will leave Flood after the job. Frank resists risking his loyalty to Flood while being drawn to Kay. The personal tensions add a dangerous edge to the planning.

Flood recruits a team of specialists for the job, including veteran safecracker Dutch Paulmeyer. The crew's expertise promises a successful breach if the plan holds. The operation becomes a high-stakes, professional heist.

Kay attends a meeting at Flood's apartment where she meets Roy and Harry. Doll demands a cut from the robbery, and Flood orders Roy to kill her. The brutal, volatile dynamics foreshadow the risks of betrayal during the heist.

Flood confirms a plan of diversions to occupy the town's authorities, including explosions at the high school and a power plant to disable the bank's alarm. Zimmer, an alcoholic and psychopathic explosives expert, is assigned to execute the blasts. The timing of these diversions is critical to the operation.

Frank and Kay attend a barbecue at the Loxleys' and overhear news of a young woman's death identified as Doll. Kay decides she wants to leave immediately, and Frank resolves to intervene when the time comes. The night crystallizes the imminent danger surrounding the plan.

On the night of the robbery, Frank learns the countdown to Zimmer's explosions and heads toward the confrontation rather than allowing the plan to proceed unchallenged. He is knocked unconscious in the ensuing fight.

Zimmer detonates a paint factory explosion and heads toward the high school where a timer is set. The explosions create chaos and threaten to derail the operation. The town-wide distraction intensifies the pressure on the crew.

Flood and his crew breach the wall next to the bank and progress toward the vault using nitroglycerin. Paulmeyer works to force the vault open while the diversions unfold. The heist's mechanical phase starts in earnest.

Frank recovers, rushes to the high school, and discovers the bomb's timer. He disables it just in time, altering the intended chaos of Zimmer's diversions. The focus shifts back toward recovering the loot.

Paulmeyer detonates the nitroglycerin to blow open the vault, and the crew begins to haul out cases of cash. Flood returns to Frank's house with the money, signaling a successful, profitable night for the crew. The immediate danger remains after the take, as police attention grows.

Frank knocks Flood unconscious and instructs Kay to phone the police. He promises that, despite the charges they face, they will find a way to be together. The ending leaves their future unresolved but marked by a plan to escape consequences.